Iceberg in Our Pond

The weather this winter has been good for hamming but not good for antenna work. Our winter has had one of the most sustained cold periods I can remember.

The photo at the right shows the ice in our 1/2 acre pond.  The iceberg in the middle was formed by the water falling from our floating fountain and freezing on the frozen pond surface.  This is the first time I have seen this much ice build up around the fountain.  Normally the fountain will keep an 8 to 10 foot diameter area open around the fountain.  Right now the only open area is from our air pump which is keep about 3-5 foot area open (right side of photo).

Since late December we have had a cyclic weather pattern of snow followed by sub-zero temperatures followed by warming to the mid-20’s followed by more snow and more sub-zero weather.  This weather pattern has been quite unusual for us.  Our more typical winter would be a sudden cold snap in late December or early January with one or two 6-8″ snow falls followed by a warm spell in January or February.  We would also sometimes have a snow fall sometime in March followed by a gradual warming trend until Spring arrives in April.  Of course the sustained cold is also evident in my heating bill!  I’m hoping for an early Spring because I’ve had enough winter for this year.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ